


Domesticity

by ChetRoi



Category: A3! (Video Game)
Genre: Domestic, Emotionally Repressed, Established Relationship, Fluff, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Maybe OOC in some chapters, No Beta, Non-Chronological, Not Beta Read, daily life
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-10
Updated: 2020-08-20
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:35:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 18,497
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23091148
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChetRoi/pseuds/ChetRoi
Summary: Chikage and Itaru have no idea how to deal with a relationship, or more specifically their relationship.  From their banters to their arguments to their kissing, both of them are unsure of what they’re actually doing, but they’ll sure as hell try to make it last. Here are some of the moments of their lives together.
Relationships: Chigasaki Itaru/Utsuki Chikage
Comments: 22
Kudos: 162





	1. Rate-ups are a lie, but my feelings aren't

**Author's Note:**

> I have brainworms, please help me remove them. Please...recommend me more topics and situations on what to write about for these emotionally constipated men...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chikage understands why so many people have such a strong love/hate relationship with gacha now.

Chikage has no idea why Chigasaki and so many others find mobile games so addicting. It’s just one of the many forms of pixels on the screens, and to be quite honest, it’s probably the worst one in Chikage’s opinion. However, when Mankai Company got a gacha game made about them, Chikage couldn’t help but be a little curious. Well, curiosity killed the cat, as Chikage stared at the current banner. Fuck, why did the first event gacha have to be SSR Chigasaki? It was drawn really well, and Chikage could practically hear Chigasaki’s traitorous voice calling out to him. Well, thanks to the special event, he gets 300 gems, which could get him 2 10 rolls. Chikage had always been told that he had good gacha luck as he sighed and thought _“Fuck it.”_ He pressed on the ten scout button, and felt oddly nervous as the mini figures popped up on the screen. Okay, that roll gave him 6 SRs, one of which was Chigasaki, however no Mad Hatter. So, Chikage decided to do another 10 roll, which got him one SSR of Taichi, who he liked, but wasn’t the one he aimed for. Now, Chikage had no more gems, and he really should’ve just stopped there. However, a smug voice that sounded a lot like Chigasaki was echoing in his head, luring him to the card like sirens to a sailor. Huh. Maybe, this is why mobile games are so addicting. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt Chikage to actually play the game.

Chikage now understands the hate that Chigasaki and so many others often expressed about gacha, Gacha rates suck and the “rate up” that’s so boldly advertised was a lie. Chikage stared at the summoning screen, where Mad Hatter Itaru just sat there, taunting him. Okay, maybe Chikage shouldn’t be complaining since he did get 6 SSRs in 4 10 rolls, but none of them was the rate up. The worst part was that Itaru’s basic SSR didn’t even come home either, and Chikage feels like this is punishment for teasing the man too much in real life. Chikage distantly remembers Chigasaki saying something about pity counters and about how he’s guaranteed a copy of the rate up SSR within 7 ten rolls, but he doesn’t have enough for that last ten roll. A thought struck him and he quickly brushed it away. He’s not going to spend money on pretty pixels. _“What if the pretty pixels are of your boyfriend? It’s not a waste of money then.”_ An annoyingly familiar voice purred as Chikage swatted it away.

“Shut up Chigasaki, I already have the real you, I don’t need this card.” Chikage muttered, cursing internally at how he devolved into talking to some pixels in his head. 

“You didn’t technically need to clear the whole story and have max bonds with all the units you got either, but here you are. Just cave and join the whale life.” Card Itaru said as Chikage rolled his eyes. However, before Chikage could retort, he heard keys jangling from the outside of the door and he immediately exited the app and clicked on some random news article. The door swung open, and Itaru trudged in. “I’m home Senpai.” Itaru announced as he kicked off his shoes and collapsed on the couch as he wrapped his arms around Chikage’s waist and placed his face in the crook of his neck.

Chikage snorted fondly as he said “Welcome home Chigasaki. I’m guessing work was hell.” Itaru groaned.

“Hell yeah it was, I swear that pile of paperwork kept on regenning. I didn’t even have time to check my ga-Shit, my LP and SP!” Itaru said as he quickly let go of Chikage’s waist, much to the green-haired man’s displeasure, and whipped out his phone. 

Chikage peered at Itaru’s phone, careful not to touch his boyfriend in case of breaking his combo, as he played some idol game. What was it called again… Love Life or something? As Itaru finished getting another full combo, he stretched and switched over to another game. “Say Senpai, you said that you tried out the Mankai game, right? How was it?” Itaru asked as he collected his login bonus.

Chikage could admit that he spent the whole day grinding for gems for that smug Itaru card that won’t stop taunting him, but he has a reputation and an ego. “It was okay, the gameplay is kinda tedious. The story was interesting, I didn’t know you cried at your first opening show.” Chikage hummed as Itaru frowned.

“Well, it’s kinda embarrassing, but anyways, enough about that. How’s your gacha luck? You probably used your cheat skills to get a dozen SSRs or something.” Itaru said, quickly changing the subject.

Chikage noticed the change, but decided not to push it. “It’s doing okay, first roll I got 2 SSRs, and then within 6 more rolls, I got 7 more SSRs.” Chikage said, conveniently leaving out that none of them was the one he wanted, as Itaru looked up from his game in disbelief.

“You’re joking. Your luck is almost as god-like as Sakuya’s. Holy fuck.” Itaru said as he exited the game and went on his own A3! app. “I only have like 6 SSRs and they’re all of myself. People must think I’m hella vain, but legit no one else comes home.” Itaru complained as he showed Chikage his account. Chikage stared at Itaru’s account, he would’ve exchanged his own account for Itaru’s in heartbeat, not that he would admit it out loud. Much to Chikage’s annoyance, Itaru noticed the staring, and smirked as he leaned in. “Do you like what you’re seeing Senpai?” Itaru said, batting his eyelashes as Chikage rolled his eyes.

“No, I’m just internally laughing at how your terrible gacha luck only gives you dupes.” Chikage said without much bite, as Itaru feigned a gasp. 

“Senpai, I’m mortally wounded. Not everyone’s a cheat character with cheat luck like you.” Itaru said as he dramatically fell into Chikage’s lap. 

Chikage snorted. “Stop being so dramatic, it’s just pixels on a screen.”

“First of all, telling someone in a theatre troupe to stop being dramatic is kinda ironic, don’tcha think Senpai? Second of all, it’s not just pixels on a screen, it’s _a way of life_.” Itaru said sagely as Chikage gently flicked him.

“What an uncute thing to say.” Chikage said as Itaru exited the A3! App and went back to playing his other games.

“You just haven’t found the one yet. The one you dedicate your entire account to, the one that you’re willing to rank and go through through gacha hell for, the one that makes you want to spend. The one you’ll do anything for.” Itaru said in a dramatic voice, as Chikage instinctively played around with Itaru’s soft hair, twirling it around his finger.

_“I do have that “one”_ _already, but I have a reputation to keep.”_ Chikage thought, internally shaking his head at how soft he has become since his past days, as he watched Itaru play his games. “Well, have you found the one for you yet?” Chikage asked. 

“Of course. I’m GawainP and LancelotP in the KniRoun game while I’m AmiP in Love Life. I have a best girl or guy in every game, it just gives me more of a purpose, y’know.” Itaru hummed as Chikage felt a pang of stupid jealousy hit him.

_“It’s just pixels, you’re real. Get it together Chikage.”_ Chikage thought as he flatly said “I see”. A comfortable silence filled the room as Chikage watched Itaru go from game to game. When Itaru finally came back to the A3! App, Chikage watched as Itaru managed to get enough gems to get a 10 scout. 

“Hey Senpai, scout for me.” Itaru said as he shoved his phone in Chikage’s face. Chikage rolled his eyes fondly and took the phone. 

“You better not blame me if this is a bad roll.” Chikage said as Itaru rolled over and wrapped his arms around Chikage’s waist. 

“Blame you if it’s a bad roll? Gotcha.” Itaru snarked as Chikage smacked him gently and clicked on the 10 scout button.

“SSR...SSR...SSR...SSR…” Itaru muttered as 6 of the 10 silver statues turned gold. As it turned out, 3 of the statues turned out to be SSR Banri, SSR Hisoka, and SSR Citron. Itaru grabbed the phone and cheered. “Kitakore! I finally have other SSRs that aren’t myself! Thank you so much Senpai!” Itaru said as he planted a sloppy kiss right on Chikage’s mouth. Chikage wiped away the spit with his sleeve as he watched Itaru train all of them to max level. He shook his head fondly, what an uncute junior.

“Say, Itaru. Who’s your “one” in this game? Banri? Sakuya? Citron? Yourself?” Chikage asked as Itaru shrugged.

“I don’t know yet, I obviously like everyone in the game, they’re family, so I don’t think I can have “the one” in here. Well… at least not yet anyways.” Itaru said as he changed his show teams to get better link skills.

“Huh? What do you mean?” Chikage asked as it was Itaru’s turn to roll his eyes.

“I obviously mean that when you finally drop, I’m gonna be a Chikage oshi. Banri’s gonna clown on me, but eh, you’re worth it.” Itaru said calmly as Chikage stared and succeeded in appearing nonchalant (even though he might’ve been very soft inside).

“I see. Well, you can oshi whoever you want.” Chikage said as Itaru rolled his eyes.

“What an unromantic Senpai.” Itaru drily said as Chikage went back to holding the other. 

“What an uncute junior. Did you expect me to swoon or something over your cheesy words or…?” Chikage retorted as Itaru pouted.

“Hey, those cheesy words are super effective on most people. You just happen to have an immunity for them, which is hella unfair considering you’re my boyfriend and all.” Itaru said as Chikage rested his chin on Itaru’s shoulders and hummed. “That’s enough about me though, who’s your oshi?” Itaru asked, as Chikage was silent.

Chikage debates about whether or not to lie, but quickly realized, he was Chikage Utsuki. Of course he was going to lie, especially if it hides his true feelings. “Well **,** my oshi is obviously Sakuya.” Chikage said as Itaru looked up from his game and craned his neck to look at Chikage.

“Is that so Senpai? I think you’re lying again.” Itaru said as Chikage kept his cool.

“Oh? Are you just saying this because you’re jealous?” Chikage said as Itaru shook his head.

“No, I know you well enough by now to tell when you’re lying. Your left ring finger twitches.” Itaru said as he went back to his game. Chikage stiffened. There’s no way that’s true, is there? It can’t be true… Itaru once again stopped his game to plant a kiss on Chikage’s cheek. “You know you’re not the only liar here right Senpai? It’s nice to know that even you can get tricked sometimes.” Itaru said as Chikage released Itaru and crossed his arms

“Seriously. What an uncute junior.” Chikage sighed as Itaru gave him a shit-eating grin.

“I learned from the best, now spill. Who’s actually your oshi? You better not lie again, I didn’t bluff my way this far for you to lie again.” Itaru said as Chikage rolled his eyes.

“Fine. My oshi is an uncute junior that refuses to listen to me, like the person he’s based off of in real life.” Chikage muttered as Itaru leaned against Chikage.

“Hmm? I don’t know who that could possibly be. Can you say his name?” Itaru said innocently as Chikage clenched and unclenched his jaw.

“No. If you don’t know who, then sucks to be you, as I’m not saying it aloud.” Chikage said as Itaru let out a whine.

“Please Senpai… I’m just so curious. Just say his name.” Itaru pleaded as he draped himself over Chikage.

_“Do not look at him. Do not look at him. You can not see. If you see, it’s over.”_ Chikage thought as he continued to look the other direction. However, he still felt his resilience weakening. However, like the fool that he always pretended to be the opposite of, his eyes instinctively shifted over to Itaru’s way too attractive face. Fuck. Why would he do that. Chikage mentally cursed at his own stupidity before sighing. “Fine… my oshi is...Hisoka.” Chikage said as Itaru sighed.

“Hisoka-san’s older than you. Try again Senpai.” Itaru said as Chikage finally gave in.

“Fine, my oshi is you, and you keep refusing to come home like the uncute junior you are.” Chikage confessed as Itaru grinned.

“What do you mean? I’m right here next to you.” Itaru said, as Chikage snorted.

“You know what I meant. Your stupid event card won’t come home and I spent way longer than I should’ve grinding for more gems.” Chikage said as Itaru smiled in a way that completely made Chikage soft. Ah damn, he was so whipped.

“If you want, I can roll for you. The trick to gacha is that you have to not care. The more you want something, the less likely you’ll get it. It’s the same thing for the opposite too, the more you hate something, the likelier it’ll come. These games can sense your desperation.” Itaru said sagely as he made grabby hands at Chikage’s phone.

Chikage shrugged and gave Itaru his phone. He was guaranteed an event Itaru this roll anyways. Itaru clicked on the scout 10 button and saw that only two gold appeared. Chikage was about to make a snide comment, but it died when he got the event Itaru, which was to be expected, and normal SSR Itaru, which was not expected. “Goddamn, they still haunt me no matter what account I’m using.” Itaru sighed disappointedly before handing the phone back to Chikage. 

Chikage put down his phone and leaned in to kiss Itaru. “I think you deserve a reward for that roll.” Chikage said in a low voice as he pushed Itaru against the couch. 

Itaru wrapped his legs around Chikage as he pulled the man closer. “And I think that you’ve spent too much time on pixels of me when you have the real me right here.” Itaru purred as Chikage kissed his neck.

“Win-win situation huh... Itaru.” Chikage said as Itaru bit back a moan from the bite that Chikage just planted on his neck.

“I did say people would do anything for their oshis, didn’t I?” Itaru said, letting out a small gasp as Chikage grabbed his ass.

“Anything for my oshi.” Chikage murmured fondly.


	2. Grinding is hard, expressing feelings is even harder

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Talking about feelings is hard. Talking about feelings at 3 am after going on a ramen date is even harder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no idea how this chapter even came into fruition, I just... randomly typed and it became a chapter. I hope it makes sense??? I really don’t know, I was like possessed when I typed this.

It was the weekend, so Itaru did what he usually did on the weekends, hardcore grind on his games. Was it the most productive way to spend his time? He believes so, but most people wouldn’t agree. Did he really care about what most people thought? Well, yeah, he does, why else would he fake like half of his image? However, the people he cared about most accepted him for who he is and that’s really all that’s important. However, just because they accepted it, doesn’t mean that they necessarily approved, which Itaru was reminded of when Chikage snatched his phone. “You’ve been glued to a screen for 13 hours, so get up and let’s go somewhere before you literally become one with your couch”. Chikage said as Itaru whined and made grabby hands at his phone.

“Senpai, you don’t understand. There’s this event banner with a limited skin of my second best girl, and I need more event tokens to actually get her.” Itaru said, making an unsuccessful attempt to take the phone from Chikage, who pocketed it.

“I know the event ends in 2 weeks, so you have plenty of time to get that skin. Plus, she’s your second best girl, not your best, so do you really need her?”. Chikage asked as Itaru shook his head.

“You don’t understand Senpai, this isn’t just about faves and second faves, this is about flexing on Banri, who also has her as his second fave.” Itaru solemnly said before adding “Besides, how’d you know the event ends in 2 weeks? I’m pretty sure you don’t keep up with the game considering you called it mindless and pretentious.”

Chikage pointedly chose to ignore the second part as he responded with “You really are an uncute junior. Now, come on, we can decide when we’re out.” Besides, I’m pretty sure Banri is out doing things with his own boyfriend, so get your ass up and let’s go somewhere.”

“You’re so unromantic Senpai, what type of asking out was that? There were no gifts or flowers or anything.” Itaru scoffed as he started to get dressed. However, he paused and asked “Wait… It’s like 2 a.m., what are we gonna do at 2 a.m.?” 

“You didn’t eat anything right? We can get something to eat.” Chikage said as he also got dressed himself, grabbing a random coat and throwing it on. 

“Hey, I ate!” Itaru protested as Chikage grabbed some random clothes of Itaru’s and tossed it at him. Itaru tried to catch it, but his 1 in dexterity caused it to hit him square in the face. 

“Chips and soda don’t count as a meal, now come on and just get dressed.” Chikage said as Itaru grumbled, but reluctantly obliged. The two quietly exited their room and closed their door. The dorms were quiet, totally different from the rowdiness in the morning and afternoons. However, it wasn’t a bad feeling, it still felt like home. Chikage’s hand quietly slipped into Itaru’s, and the two walked hand in hand together.

“Hey Senpai, where exactly are we going at midnight?” Itaru whispered as Chikage shrugged. 

“We both didn’t exactly eat, so want to hit up that 24 hour ramen place nearby that you love so much?” Chikage suggested as Itaru nodded.

“Wait, you didn’t eat Senpai?” Itaru asked as he got into driver’s seat as Chikage went into the passenger one.

Chikage looked out the window as he was silent for awhile before he replied “Yeah, I didn’t eat much because I wanted to go and get something with you. I didn’t want people thinking you’re some type of loser who eats alone, even though you totally are one.” 

“You really had me in the first half, not gonna lie. You’re completely unromantic.” Itaru huffed fondly as Chikage still looked out the window to see the mostly empty streets that have a few cars and stragglers here and there. The rest of the car ride was silent as Chikage stared out the window while Itaru looked straight ahead. It wasn’t exactly uncomfortable but it wasn’t exactly comfortable. It was stuck in a weird limbo. After what felt like a long time, the two arrived at the restaurant and parked nearby. They exited the car and headed towards the restaurant. This time, it was Itaru who slipped his hand into Chikage’s. The two entered the restaurant, which was surprisingly still bustling, and got sat in a booth in the right corner. “You getting your usual?” Itaru asked, breaking the long silence as Chikage nodded.

“I’m assuming you’re getting your usual too.” Chikage said as Itaru closed the menu.

“I don’t know, I’ve been craving Tonkatsu lately, so I’ll probably get that.” Itaru said as he signaled for a waiter to order. After Itaru ordered, he turned back to find Chikage looking at him. “Is there something wrong?”

“Itaru. We have to talk.” Chikage said as Itaru instantly felt a sense of dread.

“What about?” Itaru asked, trying to keep his voice and face as unreadable as possible. However, he was pretty sure Chikage knew him well enough to know what he was thinking.

“You know that I care for you a lot, right?” Chikage said as Itaru started to feel even more nervous.

“Yeah. What about it?” Itaru reluctantly responded.  _ “Ah fuck. Is this the part in the manga where the love interest wants to take a break and isolates himself?”  _ Itaru thought as Chikage uncharacteristically shifted in his seat.

“Nothing. Just asking.” Chikage said as the ramen arrived. Chikage immediately picked up his chopsticks and began eating. Now it was Itaru’s turn to stare at Chikage as the other man just ate his ramen. What the fuck just happened. Itaru forced himself to tear his stare away as he also digged into his ramen. The taste of the hot broth helped take Itaru’s mind off of the situation as he enjoyed the saltiness and warmth from it. However, the thoughts came back when Chikage finished his ramen and looked down at the phone on his lap. Itaru finished his ramen and went to check his own phone for his LP and SP only to remember Chikage still had it.

“Hey, can you give back my phone? I think my LP and SP refilled.” Itaru asked as Chikage looked up from his phone.

“No. You’ve spent too much time on it already. You need a break. Spend time with others.” Chikage said as Itaru frowned.

“Yeah, you say this while you’re on your phone. If I have to survive without my baby, you have to too.” Itaru said as Chikage pocketed his phone.

“Sorry. It’s work things, you know how it is.” Chikage said as he rested his face in his hands. Itaru really didn’t know how it was, but he can’t really do anything about it, so he just nodded. Chikage sighed before changing the topic. “So, how’d your grinding go?” Chikage asked as Itaru’s eyes lit up.

“Oh, it’s going well. Like the skin needs 12k tokens and I’m already at 10k, so I should get it soon. For other games, it’s going well too…” Itaru said, rambling on about things that Chikage didn’t understand. However, just seeing Itaru why so animated and passionate about something made Chikage’s heart beat a bit faster as he probably smiled in a disgustingly soft matter. His old self would probably laugh at him if he saw how whipped he was now. “And, in Love Life, I rolled... Chikage-san, what’s with that look? It’s kinda weirding me out.” Itaru said as he leaned across the table to nudge Chikage. 

Chikage immediately wiped the look off of his face as he leaned forward. “What look?” He asked as Itaru snorted at how unromantic the gesture was.

“That grossly sweet smile that you just gave. If you’re planning to murder me, at least make it less obvious.” Itaru said as Chikage sent him an unimpressed look.

“Trust me, if I wanted you dead, you would’ve been gone a long time ago.” Chikage said, which didn’t reassure Itaru in the slightest. Itaru was 99.5% sure that Chikage wouldn’t kill him, but that .5% was still there. Chikage noticed Itaru’s slight hesitation and immediately casted his eyes down. He really shouldn’t have responded like that.

“Thanks for the confirmation, very cool.” Itaru responded sarcastically after a while as Chikage rolled his eyes to hide his feelings and asked the waiter for the check. He put down his card and smiled at the waiter before he turned back to Itaru. “Thanks for paying.” Itaru said as Chikage waved it off.

“I was the one that dragged you out of the house, even if it was for your benefit, so it’s only right if I pay.” Chikage said as Itaru shrugged.

“I’m not gonna turn down free food, so maybe I should do this more often.” Itaru mused as Chikage took his hand.

“You know..if you wanted free food, you should’ve just told me. I would be happy to get you it.” Chikage said seriously as Itaru’s face heated up. 

“Really?” Itaru asked as Chikage’s face slowly broke into his usual grin.

“Of course. I’ll get the spiciest things I know and I’ll give you them.” Chikage said as Itaru paused to process the information before rolling his eyes. Of course. Why did Itaru expect anything different?

“How completely unromantic of you.” Itaru said as Chikage’s grin reduced down to a small smile. Ah, there was that word again. It really shouldn’t bother him as much as it did, but he couldn’t help it. He knows that Itaru didn’t mean it in a harmful way, but what if he did? What if Itaru wants a romantic person? Chikage internally shook his head. What stupid feelings.

“Yet, you still stick around.” Chikage said in what he hoped wasn’t a weird tone, but it ended up being that. Fuck. His feelings were showing up, and he didn’t like that. Itaru knew him well enough to pick it up, but he didn’t have time to question it before Chikage said “Now come on, it’s 3 already, let’s go home before you screw up your sleep schedule even more.” Chikage said as he got out of his seat. Itaru swears that one day he’ll get whiplash from Chikage’s words as he also got out of his seat and pushed in his chair. Itaru rushed to catch up with Chikage as he panted when he finally did. He really needed more exercise.

“Jeez Chikage-san, why are you walking so fast? Wait for me.” Itaru complained as Chikage paused. Itaru looked up at the man to see a blank face, but Itaru knew that something was up from the way that the face was blank. It wasn’t his usual resting bitch face, it was the face when he’s trying to hide something. “Are you okay? You’ve been acting weird this whole night.” Itaru softly asked as he looked up at Chikage’s face and gently placed his left hand on Chikage’s left cheek. 

Chikage felt a bit better as he uncharacteristically nuzzled against Itaru’s hand before he grabbed it and pulled him into a kiss. “I’m fine, don’t worry about it. It’s something stupid.” Chikage reassured Itaru, who once again wasn’t reassured. “Now come on, I’ll drive this time.” Chikage said, as he got into the driver’s seat. When Itaru got into the passenger one, he immediately turned to Chikage.

“Just tell me what’s bothering you. Your feelings shouldn’t be dismissed that easily, especially considering how little you pay attention to them. I know it’s hypocritical of me to say this, but please let me know what you’re thinking. I’d rather not have this lead to your bad end when I’ve been grinding for your good one.” Itaru pleaded as Chikage pushed the hair out of his face.

“Itaru. You know that I’m not good at knowing what I want and I’m even worse at expressing those wants.” Chikage said as he looked the other direction of Itaru.

“Me too, but I’m trying. I’m trying to change that. I’m trying to make this relationship work. It won’t work if we both keep our feelings to ourselves.” Itaru sighed as he leaned over to the driver’s seat and turned Chikage’s face towards him. “Chikage, I know it’s hard. I’m screaming at myself for being so clingy and demanding and vulnerable right now. Maybe, I’m making an absolute ass out of myself right now, who knows? Just please… say it so I don’t look like a clown right now.” Itaru said as he tried to keep his voice as level and calm as possible. Chikage flinched and tried to look away, but Itaru didn’t let him. However, Itaru sighed and let him go. “If you don’t want to say it, that’s fine. I’ll respect your opinion. Just know that I won’t judge you for having emotions, no matter how ridiculous you find them, because emotions are a part of being human. Plus, you almost never get emotional anyways, so when you do, I know it’s not ridiculous.” Itaru said as it was his turn to look out a window.

Chikage opened and then closed his mouth before just starting the car. This time, the ride was tense, and it made the atmosphere too stuffy. Chikage wanted to say something, but he just couldn’t. He really just couldn’t. The ride seemed to drag on forever as the two sat there in silence. When they both finally arrived home and Chikage parked the car, he turned to Itaru and gave him his phone back. Itaru took it from him, but instead of instantly checking on his games, he just pocketed it and sat there. “Itaru, I’m sorry, but I just can’t get myself to say it now.” Chikage said as Itaru gave a little shrug.

“Can’t really do anything about that.” Itaru said as he turned to face Chikage. “I know it’ll take awhile, but I’ll be here if you decide say it or anything else that’s bothering you.” Itaru said as he opened the car door.

However, before Itaru could exit, Chikage grabbed his arm. “Thank you Itaru for being so patient. I mean it.” Chikage said as Itaru gave him a stare before smiling gently.

“You’re welcome. Patience just kinda comes with dating you. People develop feelings and actions at different rates, can’t really change that.” Itaru responded as Chikage let go of his arm. Itaru waited beside the car for Chikage to get out, which took Chikage longer than he expected because he was still processing everything. However, when he did exit the car, he immediately wrapped his arms around Itaru’s waist and dipped him into a kiss. “Jeez, can’t you wait for like 2 more minutes before prepositioning me?” Itaru joker as Chikage felt a sense of relief that their banter could still come easily, even after a serious moment.

“You wish. When I get back to our room, I’m going to sleep. You can do whatever it is you want to.” Chikage said as Itaru smiled cheekily.

“Guess that means I have to stop you from going back to our room.” Itaru responded as he pulled Chikage back into another kiss. The two did eventually get back to their room, and as Chikage said, he brushed his teeth and immediately climbed into bed. Itaru pulled out his phone but decided to not grind anymore. Spending time with Chikage was more important. Itaru climbed into bed and snuggled behind Chikage, wrapping his hands around his waist. Chikage scooted in closer, and Itaru put his face in the crook of Chikage’s neck to breathe in his scent. It smelled of ramen, of course, and Chikage’s usual musky oak smell, which Itaru loved.

“Hey. Itaru. I know I said it earlier before, but I care about you a lot. I hope that my inability to express my feelings doesn’t affect our relationship.” Chikage muttered, a hint of sleepiness slipping into his voice.

“I know that you care, and I care for you a lot too. Also not gonna lie, that inability your feelings makes me fall for you even harder because it shows that you really do care and you really do try to show that. Just take your time, I’ll always try to be here for you.” Itaru said as he started to drift off to sleep.

Chikage was glad that it was dark and that Itaru was tired because his face was warm and he was pretty sure that his face was super red. “Promise you’ll still be here when I wake up?” Chikage whispered as Itaru shifted a little.

“As long as you promise that you’re still here when I wake up too.” Itaru murmured. Chikage smiled to himself as he let himself fall asleep.

“Promise.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As usual, please leave suggestions on what you guys want to see because I really have limited ideas and I want to hear more. Y’all can follow me on twitter if you want to scream more about ChikaIta with me.
> 
> Twt: gachakitakoreJK


	3. Business trips suck, calls do not

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chikage is away on a business trip, which was fine. What wasn’t fine though was just how lonely Itaru felt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haha, this is for my cousin who I got into shipping ChikaIta and stanning Chikage. I’m sorry I did this to you. This is also a cool down chapter because balancing 3 longfics is hard.

Itaru had no idea when he started to feel so lonely in his and Chikage’s room. When Chikage got sent on a business trip, it was nothing unusual. It happened a lot more often than Itaru would’ve liked, but it’s not like they could do anything about it. However, this business trip was a lot longer than usual as Chikage would be gone for 2 weeks. The first week went by fine, Itaru just played games and hung out with the other troupe members to fill the time. The two constantly texted but Itaru wasn’t satisfied by just that. Still though, it helped a lot and it managed to stave off some of the loneliness that Itaru felt. However, the second week had him realizing how big and empty the room was. Itaru should’ve loved not having Chikage in their room for 2 whole weeks, he could be a pig and game without the man judging him, but he felt empty when he reached hour 14 of grinding and there was no hot boyfriend yelling at him to sleep. Oh god, Itaru was so whipped. Disgusting.

“Ah fuck… whatever. I’ll just invite Citron or Banri or Taichi over to game. Maybe that’ll make the room a lot less depressing and empty.” Itaru muttered as he rubbed his eyes.  _ “You know that won’t help. You’re feeling this way cause you miss Chikage, not human companionship. If it was human companionship, you have like 24 other people within a 1 minute radius.”  _ His brain unhelpfully said. “Shut up brain, I’m trying to be in denial about how much of a sappy fuck I am, leave me alone.” Itaru argued back.  _ “Leave you alone to do what? Argue with yourself? Come on, just admit it. You miss him.”  _ His brain responded back. Itaru had to admit that his brain made a point. Itaru sighed as he put down his controller. “Fuck you brain, you win this round.” Itaru muttered as he placed his face in his hands. 

Itaru got up and paced around his room. Stop Itaru. Stop. It’s only been one week. He’s coming back soon. Stop acting like some lovesick fool. Stop. Bad Itaru. He groaned and sank back down to the floor.  _ “Hey. Maybe you can call him instead of being a coward. That should help.”  _ His brain once again said unhelpfully. “No, he should call first. The only reason he hasn’t called yet is because he’s busy. I don’t want to bother him.” Itaru said as he accepted the fact that this is indeed how his life is currently going.  _ “Okay, but you know him. You know that he’s always unsure about how to behave in a relationship. Maybe he thinks you don’t want to call. Maybe he’s scared to call you too. Just stop being a coward and make the first move. It’ll save you a lot of this sadness you fool.” _ Sometimes, Itaru just doesn’t want to think. You know what he does when he doesn’t want to think? Sleep. Sleep sounds good...Okay, he didn’t want to sleep apparently. His brain didn’t want to turn off and he was too lonely to sleep. God, this was sad. 

“Maybe...just having something of his near me will be enough.” Itaru said as he got up from his bed and went to Chikage’s closet. When Itaru opened it, he was greeted with 8 identical white turtlenecks and 4 identical black ones. He had no idea when Chikage had so many of the same turtlenecks, but he didn’t mind. He pushed back the turtlenecks to find Chikage’s usual blue jacket. Ah there it is. Itaru grabbed it and wrapped it around himself. It smelled faintly of vanilla and sandalwood, which was the scent of the cologne Chikage usually wore. Itaru went back to bed and cuddled the jacket, but he still couldn’t sleep.  _ “I told you you fool, you gotta call him. I’m not letting you sleep until then.”  _ His brain reminded him as he groaned and pulled Chikage’s jacket even closer. 

“You’re not the boss of me.” Itaru said petulantly as the confused Nick Young meme popped into his head. “Yeah, I know what I just said was stupid, leave me alone. I just don’t want to admit you’re right.” Itaru said to his brain as his brain responded with  _ “Of course I’m right you dingus, I’m you but with brain cells.” _

Sadly, Itaru listened to his brain and grabbed his phone. He turned it on to see Chikage’s birthday picture as his lock screen and Chikage as Gawain as his home screen. Oh god, he really was whipped.  _ “Hey, you should video call him.” _ His brain said as Itaru groaned. “Shut up brain, I’m already calling him. That’s already a win for you.” Itaru responded as his pesky brain continued.  _ “Yeah, but don’t you want to see his face? See his reactions? See him possibly smiling or laughing?” _ Itaru really hated it when his brain made sense.

Sadly, Itaru listened to his brain as he clicked on FaceTime and clicked on Chikage’s contact photo. It was currently 2 am, so Itaru hoped that Chikage wasn’t asleep or something. Oh wait, he’s talking about Chikage, that man sleeps less than Itaru does, even when Itaru’s ranking. He’s probably not asleep. The phone rang once, rang twice, and Chikage’s face popped up on the screen. His eyes were alert and he looked worried. “Chigasaki, what happened? Why are you calling me at this time? Are you hurt?” Chikage asked as Itaru shook his head rapidly.

“No, no. I’m fine. Everything’s fine. I just called to check up on how you’re doing, that’s all.” Itaru said as Chikage visibly relaxed.

“Oh. I’m doing fine. There’s just a lot of work, and I’ve just been really busy.” Chikage said as he squinted at the screen. “Is that my jacket you’re wearing?”

Itaru snuggled into the jacket. “No. I’m not wearing it. It’s just wrapped around me.” Itaru said as Chikage looked almost softly at him.

“It looks good on you. I want to see you in it when I get back.” Chikage said.

“Then get back soon.” Itaru replied, cringing at how sad and desperate he ended up sounding. Chikage noticed and was about to say something before he stopped. He and Itaru stared at each other before Itaru cleared his throat. “Anyways, whatcha doing Senpai.” Itaru said, changing the subject to get rid of the fact that he was lonely on main. Disgusting.

“I’m just lying here, thinking.” Chikage said as he shifted on his bed. Itaru wanted to be there with him, but alas they’re separated for another week.

“Whatcha thinking about? Spices?” Itaru asked as Chikage looked away from the screen.

“No. Not really.” was Chikage’s answer as Itaru thought some more.

“Uh...curry?” Itaru guessed as Chikage shook his head.

“I’ve had curry over here already.” Chikage said as Itaru had an idea, but he didn’t want to say it because it would hurt him if the idea was wrong.

“The troupe?” Itaru said, slowly making his way to his guess.

Chikage hesitated. “Well yeah, but there’s one person in particular that I’m thinking about.” Chikage responded as Itaru felt his heart beat way too fast. 

_ “Bad Itaru. This isn’t some high school crush, it’s your boyfriend. Get over it.”  _ Itaru’s brain scolded as Itaru said “Is it Sakuya?” 

“No.” 

“Hisoka-san?” 

“No.”

“Citron?”

“No.”

“Director-chan?”

“No.”

“Manager-san?”

“Definitely not.” 

Itaru mentally took a deep breath before asking “Is it me?”.

Chikage took awhile to respond, but eventually said “Yeah.”

Okay, crisis averted. Itaru didn’t have to hang up on Chikage, quit the troupe, and move to Vietnam. “Wow, congrats on being romantic for once Senpai. Achievement unlocked.” Itaru said as Chikage forcibly stopped the smile on his lips.

“What an uncute junior.” Chikage said and even though Itaru just called him romantic a literal 10 seconds ago, Itaru responded with his usual “What an unromantic Senpai.”

Itaru felt himself getting sleepy as he mentally cursed at his brain for being right. “Say Chikage-san, I don’t know if you know this but this room is too big without you. I miss your cheat self telling me to stop gaming and to eat something. I just missed you in general...and now I’m going to hang out due to how cheesy that was. Goodbye.” Itaru said as he realized that him being sleepy meant that he wasn’t fully conscious of what he was saying. He should end the phone call before he embarrasses himself more. 

“Gross.” Chikage said before quietly adding “I missed you too. I can’t wait to come home to you.”

Itaru smiled and he was pretty sure that he looked like a fool, but that’s okay. He’ll accept being called a fool if he could hear those lines over and over again. “And you called me gross…” Itaru murmured as he was pretty sure that Chikage turned slightly red. Chikage was lucky that the room was dark. 

“I won’t do it ever again then. You didn’t witness anything.” Chikage said as Itaru fondly shook his head.

“I didn’t say I didn’t like it. You should do it more often. It’s cute.” Itaru said, stifling a yawn.

“I’ll think about it, now go to bed. Sorry for keeping you awake for so long.” Chikage said as Itaru whined, but he complied.

“Alright, you better go to sleep too. I know you’re a cheat character and all, but cheat characters need to rest too. Night Chikage-San.” Itaru said as he waved bye to Chikage. “Love you, see you soon.”

Chikage waved bye back. “Night Itaru. Love you too. See you soon.” Chikage ended the call and Itaru was left satisfied.

_ “See. I told you that calling him would help.”  _ Itaru’s mind said as Itaru grumbled. “Ugh, shut up brain. You said you would after I called him.” His brain indeed shut up as he drifted in what was probably the best sleep that he ever had in those two weeks. With Chikage’s voice still ringing in Itaru’s ears, Chikage’s jacket wrapped around Itaru’s shoulders, and just the memories of that call, Itaru had his health replenished to be able to last another week.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Follow me on twitter @gachakitakorejk to see me scream about fandoms. Also comment if you want something in particular because I do not know what to write for this fic


	4. Another year, another undeserved chance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was Chikage's birthday and he gets some gifts from Itaru.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hahaha i meant to release this on Chikage's bday but I got busy so... happy super belated birthday Chikage. I hope you got all that you wished for.

Chikage was never the type to make a big fuss on his birthday. Of course it was due to his job, but he would like to think that this would still hold through even without all the circumstances that surrounded him. Still, he would be lying if he said that he didn’t like the busyness and fuss that he received from all the other members of Mankai on his birthday. All the hustle and bustle made him feel... important and well, normal. Even though he did celebrate a bit for his birthday when he was deep in the organization, it wasn’t normal by any stretch of the imagination. Here, it was just like a giant family. Yeah, it was a disorganized and chaotic family, but it was honestly way more than he expected to have or that he felt he deserved. 

“Hey Chikage-san, happy birthday. I’ve cooked some spicy foods, but with a twist. I’ve made them twice as spicy.” Omi said, gesturing towards the abundance of food on the kitchen table. 

“I’ve also baked you a cake. I know you said that you would enjoy any cake that I wouldn’t, but would you enjoy this?” Juza said, placing the fresh out of the oven cake next to Tsuzuru’s spicy fried rice that caused him to almost faint while cooking it.

“Wow, the aroma of spice really does indicate that it’s Utsuki’s birthday, so happy birthday.” The usually stoic Tasuku gave Chikage a small smile. 

“Yo, yo, yo Chikachon, here are some gucci bday shades. Will you wear them?” Kazunari asked, handing Chikage a ridiculously childish pair of glasses. Chikage chuckled but he put it on. Over the course of the day, he got a bunch of gifts, most of which were spices, but there were the occasional bottles of sake from Sakyo and Azuma, tea from Homare, and a glasses rack from Misumi. However, one person’s gift was notably absent, and it was the person that should’ve given him a present first. 

During dinner, while most of Mankai were dying due to how spicy everything was, Guy, one of the few people that were doing relatively okay, decided to ask the question. “Chigasaki, I’m quite curious. What did you give your lover?” 

Itaru, who was already dying due to the spice, turned even more red as he started to choke. Chikage gave him a hard hit on his back, which helped him. When Itaru stopped choking, he took a giant gulp of water and waited until his face wasn’t quite as red. “That’s certainly one way to refer to Senpai as, but I’ve prepared a lot of things for him, and I hope he enjoys it.”

“What? You’ve prepared a lot of thongs for him? I mean, that is quite unusual and quite perverse to say out loud for there are children here, but I did ask.” Guy responded frowning.

Azami turned red and was about to call Itaru shameless, but Itaru was too fast. “No, I didn’t say thongs, I said things. I’m not going to reveal them for they’re a surprise, but please rest assured that there will be no thongs involved.” Chikage frowned and leaned over to whisper something to Itaru. Itaru smirked and whispered something back, which seemed to satisfy Chikage as he relaxed back into his chair. “Yeah, anyways, I hope you enjoy my surprises Senpai.”

“Oi, Chigasaki. Utsuki. You two better shut up before Bon explodes into tiny pieces.” Sakyo snapped, his tone a lot weaker due to the spice. Azami indeed was red, but whether that was due to the spices or the possible lewd suggestions, the world may never know. 

However, the two did stop their discussions and Chikage was once again reminded of how lucky he was to have everyone. Sakuya insisted that they sing happy birthday, even though Chikage insisted that it wasn’t necessary. “Ah, Utsuki. You’re finally reaching the age where you’re uncomfortable with birthday wishes, huh?” Sakyo said to him while Citron dragged him to the front. Everyone in Mankai had pretty good singing voices, so that wasn’t the main problem for Chikage. The main problem was that Chikage didn’t think he deserved all of this. He was a bad person who did bad things, yet he’s having a whole group of 25 people and a parrot sing him happy birthday. Still though, he was slowly starting to accept himself, to accept that he did deserve this. 

An image of August appeared in Chikage’s mind, smiling.  _ “You do deserve this April. Everyone deserves a family that’ll love them. Happy birthday. I’ll always be watching you wherever you are.”  _ He returned back to reality as he saw his current family arguing over who was supposed to give the signal. Outside the window, he saw a particularly bright star that glimmered. He couldn’t help the fond smile that showed up on his face when everyone started singing. He was a lucky man. 

Chikage’s night wasn’t over as Itaru grabbed his hands, and led him to their room. “Finally, time for my surprises.” If it was birthday sex, Chikage kinda expected it, but he wasn’t complaining. However, it was not birthday sex (Which was slightly disappointing), but instead were 4 gift boxes of varying sizes. “Well, open them Senpai. Whatever order you like.” 

Chikage decided to not be basic and chose the 3rd one first. He unwrapped it to find a rather lavish spice rack made out of 100% pure Sugar Maple trees. He smiled. “Not bad for a person who claims to not listen to anything I say.” 

Itaru didn’t meet his eyes. “Well, that might’ve been an exaggeration. I do occasionally listen to you and your rambles about spice racks that you’ve been eying. I just kinda expected you to get a lot of spices for your birthday, so instead of getting you more spices, I’ll get you something to store the other gifts.” 

“Thanks, that’s actually rather smart of you.” 

“I’m going to pretend that you didn’t say that and instead said something sweet. Anyways, 3 more boxes. Let RNG decide your fate.” 

This time, Chikage chose the first box, where there was a plush rabbit inside. It was rather cute, and Chikage didn’t really have any plush things. Sure, he might’ve thought they were childish, but since it’s a gift from Itaru, he’ll love it. “A plush rabbit. I didn’t think today was my 9th birthday.” 

Itaru rolled his eyes. “Listen Senpai, clown on me all you want, but I won it from a claw machine. Just know that I spent way too much effort and way too much money on it.” Ah yes, claw machines. From one cheat character to another cheat machine, Chikage knew how notoriously difficult those claw machines were. 

“Well, I never said that I wouldn’t like it.” Chikage grabbed the plushie and hugged it. It was soft and squishy, kind of like Hisoka’s marshmallows. He heard a camera click and looked over to see a soft look on Itaru’s face.

“GG, that was easily the cutest shit I’ve seen.” Itaru said before shaking his head. “Anyways, let’s pretend you didn’t see that. What are you gonna name them? Or are you one of those people who don’t name their plushies?” 

Chikage shrugged. “I’ve never really had plushies to name, so what do I know?” 

“I see. Well, don’t feel pressured to name it or anything. It is your rabbit now.” 

Chikage stared at the rabbit and hummed to himself. It was rather cute and he knew that if you named something, you’ll have a higher chance to get attached to it. Still, though what was a good name? Chikausa? Chikachon? “I think I’ll name it Taruchi.” Chikage watched with disgusting softness as Itaru processed what Chikage just said. Itaru started to blush, which really was a good enough birthday present on its own.

“Senpai, you really don’t have to do that. Why don’t you name it like Chikausa or something? Why Taruchi?” 

“Well, you did spend so much time getting him for me, that I wanted to honor you. Besides, can’t I name something after my boyfriend?” 

Itaru, still blushing, placed his face in his hands and screamed. “God, you’re usually so unromantic. Where the fuck did all this romantic shit come from?” 

Chikage chuckled. “Well, to be honest, there’s another reason why I named it Taruchi. It really is the first plushie I’ve received and well, I want it to be special. I want to name it after someone I really care about.” This definitely didn’t help Itaru as he turned more red than Sakuya’s hair.

“Let’s move on to the next box before I get a bad end due to the diabetes I’ll get from you.” 

“Alright, alright. Jeez. What an uncute junior.” Chikage said, looking at the last 2 boxes. There was a tiny box, which reminded him of a ring box. A thought pricked him in the back of his head, but he pushed it away. No, it couldn’t possibly be. The other box was rather large, and well Chikage’ll choose that one because he would have no idea how to react to the small one if it was what he thought it was. Chikage opened the big box and inside were a lot of framed photos and a scrapbook. 

“Despite the fact that you might not show it, you’re actually pretty sentimental, so I decided to immortalize some memories of yours, of ours. There’s everything from our plays, to us attending plays, to you doing street acts, to our dates. It’s good for remembering everything, you know, since you never know what might happen in the future.” Itaru’s voice got a lot quieter towards the end. 

It was true though, his job (No, not the office one that he shares with Itaru) was unpredictable, and if he had to leave for Mankai’s safety, he would. Still though, this was the perfect gift for Chikage in case of that happening. “Thank you Itaru. This really means a lot to me.” Chikage said, his voice strangely raw as he looked between Itaru and the plethora of memories in his hands. 

“You’re welcome Chikage-san. I hope it doesn’t happen, but just in case, it’s something to remember us by.” Chikage wrapped Itaru into a hug and of course Itaru hugged back. The two stood there for a while before Chikage tilted Itaru’s face up into a deep kiss. 

“You know, this idea isn’t bad for an otaku like you.” Chikage said when they broke away.

Itaru wiped his mouth. “There’s the unromantic Senpai that I know and love.” Chikage smiled and reached over to ruffle Itaru’s hair. “You know, there’s one more box left. Open it.”

Oh yeah, that box. Chikage reluctantly opened it to reveal…an empty box. “You know, I didn’t know what to expect, but I didn’t expect literally nothing.” Chikage said wryly. 

“Well, it’s not nothing.” Itaru said, as he grabbed the bow that was on top of the box. “I’m also your gift for tonight. You can do whatever it is you want with me and I’ll do whatever it is you want, as long as it’s legal of course.” 

Chikage’s heads suddenly filled with all sorts of ideas. “Anything you say?”

“Anything.” 

Chikage pushed Itaru against the couch, kissing his neck. “Now, about those thongs…” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chikaita has consumed me and it kinda shows on my twt @gachakitakorejk ... still tho, suggest shit


	5. Level up in age, level up in life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Itaru's growing older, not that he minds. Still, it doesn't hurt to reflect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You do not separate ckit, so double posting wooo.... happy belated birthday to my oshi. I love you Itaru. Here's to another year of being your oshi

Itaru never cared too much about his birthday. He was growing a year older, you know what that meant? It meant he was one year closer to death. Yippee. Still though, he guesses that he enjoys his birthday “parties” where his family gets him his favorite foods and he gets a bunch of games. He wasn’t a big party person, and even if he did, he didn’t exactly have friends to celebrate it with, so he just spent it alone with games and pizza. It wasn’t anything bad to him, it was just normal. However, being at Mankai made him appreciate these parties more. He finally got to experience what other kids experienced, a bunch of people cramped at a table, eating and talking until it was time to play some sort of game.

“Do I really have to do this?” Sakyo sighed sitting down next to the as unlikely Tasuku.

“Yeah, but you don’t have to spend all night. Just play for a bit to make him feel better.” Tasuku responded. Itaru fist pumped the air. Hell yeah, Tasuku and Sakyo have joined his gaming party. Tsumugi and Tenma soon joined the party as all of Mankai eventually filed into his giant gaming room. 

Of course everyone wasn't all going to play the same games, so they split off into their own corners. Itaru wondered how kids even had the attention span to cater to a bunch of different groups that eventually occurred within parties when he, a grown ass man, struggled with it. He had to flit from group to group and play with everyone, which made him oddly happy despite how tired he felt. He finally had friends that accepted him. He finally got to experience an actual birthday party. Call him childish, but even something as simple as that made him happy. 

“Hey, these triangles… do we press on them?” Misumi asked. Itaru nodded.

“Yep, press on them when the line goes over them.” Itaru played a song to show Misumi, whose eyes were wide.

“Woah… so many triangles. Itaru really is so amazing at this.” 

Itaru tossed his hair. “Of course, I’ve spent way too much time to not be good. However, I think you could be great at this too Misumi. Just don’t miss any triangles and you’ll get better in no time.” Wow, great advice Itaru. Just don’t miss notes in a beat rhythm game. Pro gamer move.

Misumi didn’t seem to notice how the advice completely sucked as he beamed. “I won’t miss a single triangle. I’ll be the triangle master, even better than you! Watch!” 

Itaru chuckled. “I’ll be looking forward to that day.” 

Of course, Misumi wasn’t the only one who needed help as Tsumugi was his usual old-fashioned self. Still, Tasuku and even Sakyo were there to help him out as Tsumugi fumbled with even the basic controls. It was cute. 

Of course there was a gacha corner with Taichi, Citron, and Kazunari trying to exploit Sakuya’s luck. Time to join them. “Hey Itaru! We are using the pureness of Sakuya to get 5 stars!” Citron said, waving at Itaru.

“Yoooo, Sakusaku’s luck is off the charts. I’ve never seen that many 5 star envelopes in a single pull.” Itaru nodded wisely. He sees that others are finding the national treasure that was Sakuya’s gacha luck. 

“Hey Itaru-san! You want me to pull for you? I hope I can get you whoever it is you want!” Sakuya said, beaming with his hands outstretched. Who was Itaru to deny himself of free 5 stars or SSRs, placing his phone in Sakuya’s hands

“I will also perform a spell for you to get more SSRs.” Citron said, starting to recite some ancient Zahran ritual. Itaru had no idea if he was going to get cursed or not, but it’s okay. He trusted Citron.

Of course, Sakuya got him a bunch of SSRs and 5 stars as the others started some type of hype train. It felt nice to get that much hype for his gacha haul because that’s honestly what goes on in his head when he gets a good haul. “Thanks Sakuya, I can always rely on the dear leader of Spring Troupe.” 

“No problem Itaru-san! It makes me happy when you’re happy!” Itaru swears that if anyone ever hurt Sakuya, he would physically ruin their lives. 

As the party continued on, Itaru continued to flit from group to group. He trained his chuuni apprentices, he ate a bunch of unhealthy food, and he beat Banri’s ass in Tower Crawlers again. To be quite honest, it was the happiest that he has been in awhile. Is this why kids were always excited for their birthday parties? If this was what every birthday party was like, hell yeah he’d be excited for it too. Of course, the gifts were awesome too as he got a bunch of cards for the play store. Awesome, he could whale with other people’s money. Still, the gifts weren’t his favorite part of the birthday, which was surprising. As a kid, all he used to care about was the gifts, but currently, just being around everyone made him happier than the gifts. Watching as Mankai, his new family, enjoy what he enjoys most filled him with a light feeling inside his chest. Watching as they laugh and play with one another, as they didn’t judge him for exposing his gamer self… Itaru felt strangely sentimental. He had always imagined this specific scene when he was a kid or hell even a teen, but he never imagined that he would get it. 

“Hey Chigasaki, it’s time for the birthday singing and wishing.” Guy called out, which snapped Itaru out of his thoughts. He had never been fond of this part of the process when he was younger, but here he was, feeling strangely excited for it.

“K, I’m coming.” Itaru called back, walking to his KniRoun themed cake. The guys really did go all out on this party huh? As the others sang happy birthday, Itaru had a flashback to his childhood. His family still sang it to him of course, but Itaru always found it annoying. He knew it was his bday. He knew that he didn’t have any friends to spend it with. Why were they singing? To rub it in? Now, he understood. It didn’t really matter who wasn’t there, all it mattered was who was there. Who cared enough to be there. Itaru looked at the 25 faces in front of him and he smiled. It never was too late to have a birthday party. 

As the party died down and everyone returned back to their rooms, Itaru flopped down on his couch. He enjoyed himself, but god did he exert himself so much. He forgot that he had an introvert meter that also had to be recharged. “It seemed like you enjoyed yourself out there.” Itaru looked up to see Chikage smiling softly down at him.

“Oh, Senpai. Hi. Yeah, I did. I’m fucking tired though, my irl SP is drained.” Chikage leaned down to kiss Itaru on the forehead.

“Is that so? What a shame. I thought you would want me to do something for you for your birthday.” 

Itaru pouted. “I did.”

“I can’t open a portal to the anime world, no matter how much of a cheat character I may seem like.” Chikage responded wryly.

“But Senpaiiii, I don’t know what you meant by you would do anything as long as it was easy.” Itaru whined. It was his birthday, and he knew that Chikage couldn’t say anything about how much of a brat he was.

“You really are a brat.” Never mind. Still, it was comforting to know that Chikage wouldn’t change. 

“What an unromantic Senpai, calling me a brat on my birthday? Rude.” Chikage snorted and gently flicked Itaru’s head.

“Listen, you’re a brat. That’s not going to change just because you’re turning a year older.” 

“Lol, never change Senpai.” 

There was a comfortable silence where Itaru just looked up at Chikage and Chikage just looked down at Itaru. The man was too pretty for his own good. 

“So, what do you want me to do for your birthday? I’m at your service.” Chikage asked. 

“Well, what do you consider easy?”

Chikage cocked an eyebrow. “I hope you realize that when I said easy, I meant as long as I can do it, I’ll do it.”   
  


“That sounds vaguely illegal Senpai, what does that even mean?” 

“Well, what that means is that if I can do it, I’ll do it for you Itaru. So just say it, and I’ll do it, because well. You deserve the best.” Itaru blinked. Oh. Well, that was strangely romantic and Itaru had no idea how to properly respond to it.

“Wow, a sexy butler who’ll do whatever it is that I asked. Did I suddenly get transported to White Waiter? Just kidding, you’re better than the butler there and it’s not as weird because you’re not some 3000 year old demon.” 

“Or am I? If you want me to be a 3000 year old demon butler for a day, I’ll do so.” Chikage replied. Itaru quickly shook his head.

“No, no. It’s fine. I just want you to be you, because that’s the man I know and I love.” 

“So, you don’t want anything at all?”    
  


Itaru paused to think about the question. “Now, I never said that. I just said I don't want you to larp as some weird anime character. Still, though. Anything I want?”

“Anything you want.” Chikage confirmed. 

Itaru smirked. “Well, want to help recharge my irl SP?” 

“Of course, but before we do so, I have a normal gift for you.” Chikage disappeared for a moment before reappearing with a plush Red Panda. “A red panda is your favorite animal, no?” Itaru made grabby hands at the plushie, as Chikage snorted, but handed it to him.

“Hell yeah they are. Thanks Senpai.” 

“Well, what are you going to name him?” 

Itaru looked at his plushie before turning to look at Taruchi, the rabbit plushie that Itaru gave Chikage for the green haired man’s birthday. “Well, I’ll name him Chikausa.” 

Chikage’s eyebrows darted straight up before an amused smile showed on his face. “A red panda named after a rabbit. Kinda strange isn’t it?”

“Not really. I just want to show my boyfriend that I appreciate him. I also don’t want Taruchi to be lonely, so here we go, A matching set.” 

“What a cute junior.” 

“Thanks, glad that you barely realized that now.” Itaru got up and placed Chikausa next to Taruchi. “They can be boyfriends too. We love that for them.” Chikage joined Itaru in staring at the two plushies.

“That we do, but is that SP refill offer still up?” 

“Of course.” Itaru initiated the kiss, pushing Chikage against the man’s own desk. “Anything I want huh…” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Follow me and my ckit brain rot on twt @gachakitakorejk


	6. Now streaming: Taruchi and his Senpai

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chikage walks in on a taruchi livestream.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was inspired by @nightairbell 's comic on twitter (https://twitter.com/nightairbell/status/1239417766601527298?s=20), ty Chloe for letting me write a fic for this.

Chikage looked at his watch, it was almost time. When he first made that deal with Itaru, he had no trouble agreeing to it, after all he wasn’t actually planning to stay there anyways. However, when he actually decided to stay, the contract became a bit more troublesome. Sure, he could go somewhere or hang out with other members of Mankai, but he’d rather not. It’s not because he doesn’t like to go places or to hang out with the others, it’s more like he really just wants to chill in his room and be left to his own thoughts in a place he knows he can trust. It became even more difficult when he actually started to date Itaru. He just wanted to come in and spend some time with Itaru, whether it’s them just on their computers or them cuddling or even just him lying on Itaru’s lap… instead, he had to resort to watching his own boyfriend livestreaming while he was out in wherever it is he decided to stay at. However, livestreaming time was almost over and he could finally come into the room and pretend to be annoyed when in actuality he’s happy. 

Chikage watched as his clock indicated that it was indeed time to head back to his room. He saw that Itaru was still live, but it’s fine. He’d probably wrap up during Chikage’s car ride back to the dorms. After some driving, Chikage pulled into Mankai’s parking lot and headed to room 103. As he got closer, he could hear Itaru’s voice coming from within. Huh, that’s unusual, Itaru’s usually quiet when Chikage comes back. Chikage shrugged and opened the door to find that Itaru still had his headset on. Oh, he was still live. This was the first time this happened since Itaru was usually on top of things. Guess, he just got so caught up in whatever game it was that he was streaming (Chikage was pretty sure it was a speedrun of KniRoun X, but it’s not like he pays attention to Itaru when he rambles on about his games or anything). Well, what should Chikage do now? Should he leave and wait outside? Should he just sneak in and lay low? So many possibilities. Well, as Itaru’s Senpai, he knew his choice should’ve been obvious: Cause as much trouble as possible.

Chikage didn’t even bother changing out of his office clothes as he creeped behind Itaru. “Yeah, yeah. There’s a boss coming, I been knew. Wait, what do you mean there’s literally a boss coming? The fuck, who would be in my room at this ti...Oh fuck.” Itaru turned around to face Chikage with what he knows is a sheepish smile under the mask. “Oh, hey Senpai. Welcome home. You’re home late today. How was work?” However, his eyes quickly darted to his monitor and back to Chikage.. “Be careful, I’m still streaming, so make sure to avoid the camera.” The chat was going crazy with people asking who the man was and with NEO spamming the Pogchamp emote. 

Should Chikage leave now? Should he just quietly go back to his side of the room? Nah. He did say that he was Itaru’s Senpai, so he will keep his promise. “Yeah?” Chikage murmured as he pulled Itaru away from the focus of the camera. Itaru quickly took off his headphones before that terrible feeling of walking away from your computer but getting tripped up by wires happened. Chikage took off Itaru’s mask to stare at his beautiful pink eyes, “You know that our scheduled time was over 15 minutes ago right?” Chikage asked softly. Itaru opened his mouth to respond, which was just fine for Chikage as he took it as an opportunity to kiss Itaru. Itaru’s eyes widened, but he soon melted into the kiss. 

The chat was going wild as the entire chat was spammed with the Pogchamp emote. NEO, who had been spamming the Pogchamp emote since he noticed Chikage enter the room, was more than happy to be joined in his spamming endeavors. However, neither Chikage nor Itaru noticed what even was happening on the screen as they continued kissing. However, Itaru pulled away and wiped his mouth.

“Senpai, I’m streaming. Why would you do that?” Itaru whined. Chikage smirked.

“We had a deal and you broke that deal. I had to punish you somehow.” 

“GG.” Itaru grabbed the mask from Chikage’s hand and returned back to see the chat exploding.

:Well gamers, I gotta head off now. I have some business I have to deal with. See you guys next time.” Itaru quickly ended the stream before anyone could ask something or before Banri could start shit because he just would.

“Well, what happened?” Chikage asked as Itaru slumped into his seat and sighed.

“Sorry Senpai, I totally forgot about the time. I just got to my favorite part of the game and I didn’t really pay attention to the clock.” 

Chikage gave Itaru an amused smile. “It’s fine. I hope you do it more often so I can show the world what the real taruchi is like.”

Itaru glared at Chikage, crossing his arms. “How unromantic, I’ll make sure to keep this event at an SSR rarity.”

“Hmmm… is that so? Well, since it’s so rare, maybe next time I could do something a bit more… frisky.” Chikage hummed.

“Wow, I didn’t know you were into voyeurism Senpai. That opens up a lot of new job opportunities. Maybe you can be a camboy. You’d be really successful at being a camboy.” Itaru’s face turned dreamy. 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” 

“Well, you have a killer body and you’re both pretty and hot. You can appeal to two different audiences. Plus, you have glasses, which opens up a whole nother realm of possibilities,” 

Chikage shook his head, letting out a little snort. “You really seem to be thinking about this huh? Sorry to disappoint, but the only viewer that I want is right here in front of me.” 

“Damn, you want my camera to view you? I mean, I’m not complaining but I didn’t take you to be so bold Chikage-san.” 

“Maybe I’ll take your suggestion to heart and actually become a camboy.” Chikage was trying to make Itaru, but it didn’t seem to phase him at all.

“Nice, I respect the hustle, Get that coin.” 

Chikage raised an eyebrow. “You’re not jealous?”

Itaru shook his head and got up from his chair. “Nah, why would I be?” Itaru pulled Chikage into another deep kiss before once again pulling away. “I know that the only person to be in your thoughts when you’re doing all that sexy shit is me.” 

“Cocky aren’t you? Well… you’re not wrong, but still... suggesting your Senpai do camboy work? Uncute.”

“Yep, I’m so uncute that it makes you want to stick your tongue in my mouth.” 

Chikage rolled his eyes. “Whatever. Let’s go to bed.”

“Like go to bed or  _ go  _ to bed?” Itaru waggled his eyebrows.

“I mean go to bed. It’s late and we should probably go to sleep.”

Itaru let out a disappointed sigh but he conceded because consent is sexy. Chikage climbed onto the bed first and Itaru followed shortly after. When they were both on the bed together, Itaru snuggled deep into Chikage’s arms. Chikage was always getting pushed to the wall, but he didn’t mind if it meant that Itaru was more comfortable. 

“Hey Chikage-san, I really am sorry that I didn’t keep track of time. I’ll make sure to have a timer on me or something.” Itaru muttered, his voice already getting traces of sleepiness in it.

“It’s fine. It was fun embarrassing you in front of thousands of people. I hope I can do it again soon.” Itaru groaned and buried his face in Chikage’s chest.

“You’re lucky that I love you.” 

Chikage hummed contentedly. “Indeed.” It wasn’t long before Chikage could hear Itaru’s soft snoring. He shook his head fondly. Itaru really did fall asleep quickly huh? Chikage watched as Itaru’s chest went up and down, which strangely helped him feel calm. He wished that life could be this simple all the time. Just him with Itaru in his arms, relaxing without a care in the world. Oh god, that was so sappy. Still, he was looking at the sleeping man, he smiled softly. It’s fine. Itaru was asleep. He wouldn’t know how sappy Chikage could get and he wouldn’t clown on Chikage for it. Maybe, now… just in these moments… he could let himself get away with being cheesy. “I love you too Itaru.” Chikage kissed Itaru gently on the forehead. While Chikage often has trouble sleeping, he finds that having Itaru in his arms helped a lot. He didn’t know when, but his eyes fluttered close. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hahaha follow me on @gachakitakorejk for ckit shenanigans...


	7. Slow dancing in the dark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Itaru and Chikage at a party, watching other couples interact. Itaru wants to slow dance, but Chikage's not fond of slow-dancing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so it's 5:30 am and I just wanted to get this out before i slept. This was based off of the question, who would ask each other to dance first, Itaru or Chikage... this is also probably ooc but it's okay, i just want domestic fluff with them cause i'm kinda tired of writing angst, so this is a cool down. I'm sorry if this made no sense, I wrote it between the times of 3 am to 5:30 am

Chikage was never too fond of parties, but parties with his precious family? He can make exceptions. Chikage looked around, taking in the scene. The bright moon was high in the sky, its rays of lights bathing everyone in a soft glow which contrasted with the brighter glows that came from the lanterns hanging from the clothes line. A cool breeze making its way throughout the yard causing the trees, filled to the brim with colorful decorations, to rustle. The scent of Omi’s always delicious cooking wafting from the makeshift tables they were placed on to fill the entire courtyard. Music from the master playlist that everyone contributed to mixed with the chatter from different conversations to form some type of weird cacophony of sounds, not that Chikage minded, in fact he found it quite relaxing. 

“Hey Senpai, why are you leaning against a wall in the shadows like you’re some anime villain?” Chikage’s head quickly snapped to the side where Itaru was leaning against the wall with him. He was engrossed in some type of mobile game per usual, his fingers deftly moving across the screen, its light making Itaru’s hair shine even more than usual. 

“Chigasaki, don’t you know it’s rude to sneak up on people?” Chikage watched as Itaru’s hands stilled, causing him to lose his game. Itaru silently cursed to himself before pocketing his phone.

“I thought that you knew that I was here, you always know when I try to sneak up on you.” 

Chikage knew that his past self would call the current him a fool, would hurl insults about how soft and weak he is, would say how he can’t get close to anyone because it’s too dangerous and how he can’t afford it. Well, it was true, but...Chikage took a look at Itaru, eyes softening when he saw him looking back. Itaru always did have the prettiest eyes, and in the glow of the soft moonlight, they looked like beautiful gems. Chikage could drown in their depths and he wouldn’t mind. “Well, I guess that I just wasn’t paying attention.” 

A look of surprise overtook Itaru’s face before it quickly disappeared back into the shadows. “Well, that’s unusual. I don’t mind though. Maybe I can steal your wallet and use it for my gacha funds.” Itaru’s hand made its way over to Chikage’s, taking it in his own.

“You’re truly an uncute junior.” Chikage’s fingers curled itself around Itaru’s. 

“And you’re my unromantic Senpai.” The two fell back into their comfortable silence, with Chikage going back to observing the party. 

“Hisoka, you must understand… The beauty of the song isn’t just in its lyrical composition, which is already quite masterful in its job at getting stuck in your head. The true beauty is that it’s sung by Spongebob, who if you noticed, only has 2 true friends. That’s why he’s singing about having fun with his limited number of friends. So, if we start with the letter F-”

“Alice… the song ended half an hour ago. The song’s popular because it’s catchy and it’s on a famous cartoon. Can I go back to sleep now?” Despite the annoyance in Hisoka’s voice, the man had a soft look in his eye, lips quirked up in a small smile. Hmm, so he wasn’t the only one that has gotten a lot softer. Chikage squeezed Itaru’s hand more tightly.

Itaru leaned on Chikage, humming contentedly. “You’re couple-watching too huh? I just watched Tasuku following Tsumugi everywhere, occasionally joining him in conversations. I don’t think Tsumugi really noticed that Tasuku was following him around, but the two seem happy enough. Then Tsumugi started jamming out to Just Be Friends and well… he kinda spent the next 10 minutes trying to convince Tasuku that everything’s fine with them.” 

Chikage snorted. “I think Homare just talked Hisoka’s ear off about the deeper meaning of the song F.U.N.”.

“The song in Spongebob?” Chikage nodded. “It’s literally just an ear-worm song, I don’t think there’s any deeper meaning.” 

“I agree and so did Hisoka, but Homare apparently didn’t. I think he’s still going on about it.”   
  


“Yikes, a big F for Hisoka.” Chikage and Itaru turned to look at Hisoka, who was already asleep while Homare continued talking. The two couldn’t help but smile at the sight. However, that moment was ruined when a song that could only be described as weird, came on. What the fuck was this? “Hey Senpai, did this song just say something about Old Spice?”

Chikage furrowed his eyebrows. “I believe it did.” They heard a loud woop and turned to see Kazunari jumping up and down.

“Misu! I finally found the song after going through 300 songs! C’mon, let’s dance!”

“Yeah!” Misumi cheered, doing a backflip. 

Sakyo was scowling, crossing his arms. “Oi Miyoshi, what the hell type of song is this?” 

“Oh! It’s called Run Run Bodywash! I saw it on a meme compilation? Isn’t it great?”

Sakyo scowled even harder. “Turn it off. No one wants to listen to this.” 

“Sumi does, don’t you Sumi?” Misumi nodded happily. “See. 2 people want to listen to this.” Sakyo sighed before marching over to the “DJ” station (Which was really just a computer with the playlist on it). He looked through the list and clicked on a song. 

“There, that’s better.” 

Kazunari frowned. “Did you just play Sinatra? I would call you a boomer, but I love Fly me to the moon, so you get a pass.” 

“It’s okay Kazu! He probably wants to dance with Kantoku-chan to this song or something.” Misumi said, placing an arm on Kazunari. Sakyo looked to the side, but he didn’t say anything. “Besides, this is a great song to dance to. So, want to dance with me Kazu?” Misumi extended a hand out to Kazunari, who took it. 

“Bro, of course.” 

Chikage heard Itaru sigh next to him. “I presume that you don’t want to dance Chigasaki.” Itaru shook his head.

“I don’t know how to slow dance, and even if I did know, I’m not sure how I would feel about it.” Itaru looked up at the stars that littered the night sky, closing his eyes. “What about you Senpai? Do you know how to slow-dance?” 

Chikage did indeed know how to slow dance, he had to learn for a few missions. He’s often been complimented on it, but… “Yeah, but I’m not fond of it either though. I just don’t see the point in it. Like, what does it accomplish? You can display your love or affection for someone in many different ways. Why choose something as insipid as that?” Itaru was silent for a while, continuing to look up at the stars.

When Itaru finally spoke again, his voice was soft. “You know Senpai, I wouldn’t consider it insipid. Cliche? Yeah. But, there’s a reason why slow dancing is such a classic thing in romance shows and mangas and games.” 

Chikage turned his head to look at Itaru. “Why does it seem like you want to slow dance?” Itaru shrugged. 

“I don’t know Senpai. Maybe... you’re just overanalyzing this.” Chikage turned to look at Itaru, who looked back at him. Fly me to the moon transitioned to a familiar song.

“Hey, isn’t this the song in Kniroun X that plays during a ball?” Itaru nodded.

“Huh, I thought you said that you didn’t care for my games.”

“I don’t care for your games. I do care for you though.”

“Huh. How romantic of you Senpai.” Itaru looked back up at the stars before looking back at Chikage, his eyes unreadable. “Hey, I know that my dancing skills are level 0, but do you want to dance with me?”

Chikage couldn’t help the smile that formed on his face. “I thought that you didn’t want to slow-dance.”

“I never said that. I just said I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about it. But after thinking about it, I have to try it in order to know how I feel, so...would you do me the honor?” Itaru extended his hand, which Chikage accepted. 

“Sure, I can’t wait to count how many times you step on my feet.” Itaru rolled his eyes, but he shakily pulled Chikage into a basic slow dancing form with Itaru’s left hand in Chikage’s and Itaru’s right hand on Chikage’s waist. Chikage shifted a bit to adjust the position to make it more steady. 

“Alright, I once again apologize in advance for my level 1 in dancing.” Itaru started to guide Chikage. 

“Wow, this wasn’t as bad as I expected.” 

Itaru leaned in, putting his face in Chikage’s chest. “Thanks. I learned it from anime and movies.” Chikage looked down, seeing Itaru’s soft smile. The moonlight and shadow fought for dominance, making Itaru look ethereal. The slight light making Itaru’s eyes stand out, like a diamond in the rough. Itaru really was beautiful. Chikage leaned into kiss Itaru, who leaned up to meet him. “Chikage-san, did you know that I always dreamt of slow dancing with someone that I liked?”

Chikage winced slightly, remembering his past remarks. “No, I didn’t know that.” 

Itaru gave a melancholic grin. “Yeah, when I was younger, I didn’t really have friends, much less significant others, so I just watched romance animes and read romance mangas and played otomes… I always wanted to be like the protags. I wanted to slow dance with someone that I love. I wanted to just feel their heartbeat, to bask in their warmth, to feel like I’m loved.” 

“Cheesy.” Itaru glared at Chikage.

“You truly are unromantic Chikage-san.” 

Chikage leaned in for another kiss. “Well then, I’ll be romantic. I hope that this granted your wish. I love you Itaru and I would dance with you as much as you want, just give me the word.” 

“Thank you. That means a lot to me.” 

The two silently danced for a while, just enjoying each other’s company. However, Chikage was curious about something. “Well, how do you feel about slow dancing now that you’ve tried it?”

Itaru hummed, his face against Chikage’s chest. “Well...It’s a lot different than I expected. I always expected this explosive feeling, like fireworks going off in my chest. Like the feeling you get when your crush is around you and you really really like them.” 

“Hmmm? Is that so?”

“Yeah.” 

“Well, if it doesn’t feel like that, what does it feel it like then?” 

“It feels a lot… more subtle. Like instead of the first kiss with your first love type of thing, it feels a lot warmer. It feels like returning home to your boyfriend that you’ve been with for a year after a long day of work and just cuddling with him.” 

“Well, I guess I’m sorry that it wasn’t what you’re expecting.” 

Itaru shook his head. “No, no. Don’t be sorry. I actually like this feeling a lot more. It’s more genuine and it feels like a relationship that’ll last a long time instead of some type of short-lived, passionate high school relationship.”

“I hope we last a long time...Itaru.”

“I do too Chikage-san.”

Chikage had to admit, he almost wanted to lead the slow dance, but he was glad that he gave Itaru free rein. He could feel Itaru breathing against his chest, a contented sigh leaving the man’s lips. He could feel Itaru’s heartbeat pressed against his own chest, it felt so intimate. Chikage stored the sound in his memory for when he was feeling lonely. That way, he could always remember this moment and how close Itaru was to his heart, even if he wasn’t physically there. 

“Hey Chikage-san.” Chikage got snapped out of his thoughts.

“Yes?” 

“What do you think about slow dancing now?” 

Chikage thought about it before slowly answering “Well, I’m still not fond of slow dancing…” Chikage could feel Itaru’s disappointment. “However, if it’s slow dancing with you, that’s a different story.” Just like with Itaru’s disappointment, Chikage could feel Itaru lighten up. 

“So, you no longer find it insipid?”

“Well, I guess slow dancing is pretty nice as long as you care about the person. I was lacking the feelings, so I guess in a way, I shouldn’t have judged it so hastily.” 

“Wow, you admitting your mistakes? Guess I’m a lucky man today to get you to both dance  _ and  _ admit your mistakes.”

“Shut up Itaru.” Itaru laughed, and Chikage swore that if he could bottle up that sound and listen to it every day, he would. 

“You know you love me Chikage-san.”

“I do love you.” Chikage agreed, placing his face in Itaru’s hair. 

“Good, I love you too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Follow me on twitter @gachakitakorejk for ckit brainrot


	8. I'll say I do, even I'm not allowed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Itaru and Chikage are at a wedding, and Itaru's feeling particularly soft. Chikage notices, and being the unromantic person that he is, asks Itaru about his thoughts on them getting married (Yes, at someone else's wedding).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was based off of the JP prompt... of june weddings... so..yeah. They just deserve to get married, but that's a different fic that's a WIP... I do want them happy despite all the angst I write and plan to write for them.

Ugh. Itaru always hated obeying social norms. All he wanted to do was just chill at home with his video games, with not a care in the world, but instead he had to go to someone’s wedding. He didn’t even really know the person that got married, what was her name again… Akane? Akari? Ayame? It was something like that. However, here he was, pretending to be thrilled for her when she just invited the whole goddamn company because she wanted to prove to her parents that she was popular. Itaru sighed as he took another sip of champagne, which really was the only saving grace in this situation. 

Itaru looked around, taking in the scene around him. The dining hall was decorated with what was admittedly really nice roses (Tsumugi would’ve loved them) and a lot of blue and gold. He supposed that it was a nice color scheme. The chandeliers provided a soft romantic lighting that was reminiscent of romance films. Classical music mixing with a bunch of voices filled the room with a lively, yet somewhat subdued, atmosphere. There were many people crowding around the bride, probably congratulating her or sucking up to her to not seem like some sort of asshole. However, there were plenty of people like him, who were just sitting there uncomfortably or were talking amongst themselves. Wasn’t marriage supposed to only be witnessed by people you actually care about? Whatever. 

Itaru got up from his chair and walked over to the bride, giving her a big smile. Fuck, time to use his luck. “Congratulations on the wedding Akane-san. I hope you two are very happy together.” A whole few seconds passed, causing Itaru to wonder if he just gave himself a bad end, before the bride beamed.

“Thank you Itaru-san! I’m so glad that you could make it to the wedding! I know that you’re a busy man with both theatre and work, so I’m honored that you could make room for me.” Itaru felt bad for being so critical of her before when she sounded genuinely happy that he came. Itaru ignored all the gazes of her friends, who were probably checking him out, instead only focusing on Akane.

“No problem. I wouldn’t miss it for the world. Now, I’m sure you’re a very busy woman with a lot of people wanting to talk to you, so I’ll see myself out. Once again, congratulations.” Itaru gave a dip of his head as he walked away from the crowd of people. Someone familiar cleared their throat behind him, causing Itaru to turn around. “Oh. Hey Senpai. Funny seeing you here. Thought you were too busy with others for your poor junior.”

Chikage rolled his eyes. “Real funny Chigasaki. Didn’t think you’d be so petty after I said that I was going to talk to other guests in order to appear normal.” Itaru felt a hand reach for his, squeezing it. 

“Whatever Senpai. I actually talked to the bride, so I’m not a total weirdo.” 

“I think that’s just called basic wedding guest decency Chigasaki.” 

Now it was Itaru’s turn to roll his eyes. “Whatever.” He nudged Chikage. “Anyways, how was your sucking up Senpai?”

Chikage shrugged. “Well, it went okay. Apparently Nagikawa-san’s pregnant.” 

Itaru raised an eyebrow. “Wow, I didn’t expect that.” Chikage nodded as the two fell back into silence.

Itaru looked at Chikage. The man was handsome, as always, and he was wearing a nice grey suit. Ugh, Senpai was always a cheat character. Itaru supposed that it wasn’t all bad though, he was dating said cheat character, so that’s a win for him. Loud laughter was heard as Itaru snapped out of his simping to look at the groom and the bride laughing about something. They looked so happy together, and Itaru could feel his heart softening. He wanted that in his life, he really did. 

“Hey Chigasaki, what’s with that gross look on your face?” Oh yeah. Chikage was perceptive, oops.

“Well excuse me if I’m feeling a bit romantic at a wedding.” Itaru huffed. He once again looked at the happy expressions on the bride and groom as they were now whispering something to each other. Huh. He really shouldn’t go to weddings, they’re turning him sappy and he didn’t need that.

“I see.” Itaru felt Chikage squeeze his hands more tightly before saying words that nearly made him ascend to whatever afterlife there is. “So. What do you think about you and I getting married?”

Itaru suddenly choked on air, causing concerned looks to be directed at him. Chikage patted his back until Itaru finally recovered enough to wheeze “What?”

Chikage, that bastard, still looked as calm and cool as ever. “I asked about your thoughts on you and I getting married.”

Itaru opened his mouth and closed it like a gaping fish. “Is this like a proposal or something? Because… I don’t see a ring or anything.” 

Realization flashed on Chikage’s face as he shook his head. “No, no. Nothing of the sort. This isn’t any kind of proposal or anything, I’m just curious about your thoughts on our marriage.”

Oh okay. Itaru suddenly felt his health bar replenish back for him to be coherent. “May I ask why you’re asking?”

Chikage looked away, muttering something that Itaru couldn’t pick up on. 

“Huh? What was that?”

“...Because I see you so happy looking at them and I want to know more about things that make you happy.”

Oh. _Oh._ Itaru couldn’t help the giddy smile that formed on his face. “Well… to be honest, I haven’t really thought about us getting married.” A flash of hurt flashed across Chikage’s face as Itaru recognized his mistake. “Oh fuck. I didn’t mean that in a bad way. It’s just you’ve never really expressed any interest in marriage, so I pushed it out of my mind. Enthusiastic consent and communication in relationships is the key to long-lasting ones.” Itaru winced internally as he realized that they both suck at communication and that he totally just outed the fact that he read a Wikihow on how to keep relationships. 

Chikage’s face was still expressionless, but Itaru knew him well enough to see the slightly pursed lips and the strange look in his eye. “Whatcha thinking about Senpai?”

Chikage hesitated. “Something unromantic.”

“Ah.” Itaru nodded knowingly. “Take your time.”

Itaru supposes that while Chikage was being his usual unromantic self, Itaru could stand to be a bit more romantic. You know, to offset what your partner isn’t and all that. Itaru knew that there was more gaps in that thought than there were whalers in Live Love, but whatever. He’ll believe it when it suits him.

_“Hmmm… How would marriage with Senpai be like?”_ Itaru mused, instinctively leaning against Chikage. The man was comforting, which was a weird thing to say considering who he probably was. _“Well… I guess the marriage would be nice. Marriages are always nice… maybe we can have a KniRoun themed wedding, although I doubt Senpai would let that happen.”_ Itaru felt the warmth remove itself from his hands, as he now felt it around his waist. Ah, he could get used to this. _“Good for taxes, if Senpai even does taxes. I mean I do them, so those extra spouse tax deductions… sexy.”_

Itaru shook his head. What happened to being romantic? Ugh, being around Chikage really warped him. _“Okay. Romance. Romance. Well… if we’re married, we’d go furniture shopping and grocery shopping. Wait. We already do that. Well… we’ll go out and spend time together. Wait. We already do that. We can… take people out to eat, especially the younger ones. Wait. We already do that.”_ Itaru paused. _“Uh...shit. We already act like a married couple huh.”_

Itaru glanced up at Chikage, who was still deep in thought. Itaru has never thought that he’d ever like anyone enough to actually consider marriage, muchless find someone that would actually consider marrying him. His otaku self, his office self, Chikage knew them both, yet he would still possibly marry him. Itaru should consider this a UR event and snatch it before it disappears. “You’ve been staring at me Chigasaki. I know I’m handsome, but other people might find it creepy.” Chikage sounded amused as Itaru snapped his head back to face the other guests.

“What an unromantic Senpai, haven’t you heard of humility?” 

“What are you implying my uncute Junior? I’m a very humble person.” 

Itaru scoffed fondly. “Your lying strikes again Senpai.” Itaru cleared his throat. “Anyways, you done being unromantic yet, cause I’m done being romantic. It’s too gross and I’d like to get it out before it infects me and turns me into some cheesy gross person.”

Chikage raised an eyebrow. “You? Being romantic? Pray tell.”

Well, here goes nothing. “So, I was thinking about our possible marriage since you brought it up and well…”

Chikage was uncharacteristically fidgety. “Well?”

Itaru took a deep breath. “Well, we already act like a married couple already, so the marriage aspect wouldn’t really change that. Plus, marriage looks good on tax forms.”

“That doesn’t sound romantic at all.” Chikage pointed out drily, causing Itaru to slap him gently.

“Listen, I’m getting to the romantic part. Be patient.” Okay Itaru, don’t melt into a puddle. “I’m just kinda happy that someone would see both my real otaku self and my usual self and decide that you would actually marry me. I didn’t expect that to happen at all, and the fact that I actually like you back? I’m just really glad that someone like you would like someone like me.” Itaru now feels like melting into a puddle. Great.

“Someone like me?” Chikage asked, a fond smile on his face. He leaned down to kiss Itaru on the forehead, which was the tipping point for Itaru’s melting process.

“Yeah. Someone as cool and as much of cheat character as you.” Chikage’s smile melted off of his face as it was replaced with something more melancholic. 

“I’m not exactly what or who you think I am.” Itaru knew this, he wasn’t stupid. However, that wasn’t his concern, all of his concern was for the Chikage that he currently knew. 

“I’m quite aware of that, but that doesn’t matter to me. The Chikage that I know is really the only one I care about, whatever it is that you’re hiding… it’s not the you I know, so I won’t judge you based on that. Whatever it is that you’re hiding, it’s fine.” Itaru knew that it was gross and sappy, but whatever. They were at a wedding, which was something that they might not get. He could afford to be sappy every once in a while.

Chikage was silent before he let out a laugh that Itaru wished he could bottle forever. “You’re strange, you know that?” 

“Yep. Yet, you still want to marry me, so who really is the strange one here?” 

“Well, you still are, but you’re _my_ strange uncute Junior.” Itaru could’ve done without the uncute nickname, but he felt butterflies when he heard the word my. He liked it.

“I can’t believe that I would actually look forward to marrying you.” Itaru sighed. Oh wait. “I know that it’s rude to be discussing other people’s marriages during someone’s wedding, but we’re both pretty unromantic and you were the one who started it, so…” 

“Yeah, okay. Blame your poor Senpai for it.” 

“You literally brought up the topic.”  
  


“And you literally gave a cheesy response.” 

Back and forth, back and forth. Despite everything, Itaru can always count on his bantering with Chikage to be a constant. 

“Yeah, whatever Senpai. We’re both unromantic.” 

“Yeah…” Chikage’s face fell as he turned to face Itaru, looking him in the eye. “Chigasaki, just know that I would love to get married. I would love to settle down and bond more with the Mankai family. I would love to meet your family and laugh at embarrassing pictures of you. I would love to spend most of my days with you. I would love to call you my husband and for you to call me your husband. Yet…” Chikage trailed off. 

“It’s okay Senpai. You don’t need to say it. Maybe, one day, it’ll come true.” Itaru pulled Chikage into a hug, burying his face in the man’s broad chest. 

Unsaid words lingered in the air, causing a sense of sadness in Itaru. Some things were just better left unspoken.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> my twitter is @gachakitakorejk and I said I would take a hiatus from chikaita until chikaita week yet here I am


	9. Mobages, Cuddles, and Everything Unaddressed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's late. Chikage wants to cuddle, Itaru wants to do his dailies.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahem... *taps microphone* Little spoon Chikage. Enjoy the mindless fluff

Chikage wasn’t a cuddler, you could ask anyone. Well… you couldn’t actually ask anyone because those that Chikage had cuddled with before have gone missing, but you get the idea. However, he was trying to distance himself from the “making people disappear” side of his life, so he supposes that he should  _ try _ accepting cuddles. 

Now, it may seem that Chikage would be resistant to cuddles, but… Well, he should let his current position do the talking.

Chikage was currently nestled in between the warm arms of his boyfriend, who was currently mindlessly scrolling on his phone. Chikage peered up to see that Itaru was just doing his dailies. Itaru’s hands steadily went through everything, like he had done these exact same movements hundreds of times. 

“Chigasaki, put down your phone. I don’t want you losing the few brain cells you have left.” It wasn’t like Chikage wasn’t jealous or anything, he was just annoyed. It was already pretty late, and while he definitely wasn’t one to sleep early, he just wanted some peace and quiet with his boyfriend, who sadly has a cell phone addiction. Chikage really was tempted to just grab Itaru’s phone and hold it hostage, but he was currently too warm and comfortable to want to move. 

“Wait senpai. I need to finish the dailies for Kniroun mobile first, then the dailies of our mobile game, then Nstars, then Dragons and Puzzles-” I

taru didn’t get a chance to finish listing off his mobages before Chikage replied with “I’m giving you half an hour. After that, I’m cutting out the WiFi.”

“Half an hour? I can’t do everything in half an hour. Give me 45 minutes.” Itaru pouted. 

“25 minutes it is.” 

“What? No. Fine, give me 40.”

“20.”

“Senpai, you’re seriously unromantic.” 

“And you’re seriously uncute. I’ll give you 30 minutes, take it or leave it.”

Itaru rolled his eyes. “Fine. I guess I’ll just speedrun everything.” 

Chikage had been with Itaru through many of his speedruns, but he had never been this close to it. Itaru’s fingers glided along the screen gracefully, which wasn’t usually a word that Chikage would use to describe Itaru. Chikage would never admit it aloud, but it was nice to be this close.    
  
Chikage watched with way more interest than he was willing to admit as Itaru’s slender hands clicked and scrolled through countless homescreens, each with its own attractive anime character greeting them. Occasionally, Itaru would stop to talk about some strategy he was employing or some clan member that was too annoying. Chikage was surprised that he was spared some big lecture about a waifu or a husbando that he didn’t care about. 

“See senpai, that’s my fully trained, max level Cynthia. She’s a great totem and her debuffs are some of the best in the game. However, she’s not really popular in the fandom, so there’s only 2 skins of her. That’s kinda sad because she’s so slept on, but it’s better for me because I don’t have to whale as often.” Itaru said after a long while of comfortable silence.

Ah. The peace was nice while it lasted.

“Hmm… I wonder why you like her so much.” Chikage asked sarcastically, eyeing the skimpy dress that barely covered Cynthia’s assets. 

Itaru fake gasped. “Senpai, I’m hurt. Do you really think I would call her my best girl just because she has big boobs?”

“Yes.”

“Sorry to disappoint, but Cynthia’s my best girl because of her backstory. You see…” Itaru continued to talk about Cynthia and her dedication to the queen and her overall sad backstory. Chikage tuned most of it out, but the enthusiasm in Itaru’s voice was infectious as Chikage couldn’t help but smile. Itaru’s voice was soothing and Chikage felt himself unconsciously snuggling closer to Itaru to feel the hum of his boyfriend’s chest as he spoke.

“...and that’s why she’s totally slept on.” Itaru finished, already on his 8th game. Chikage glanced at the time. Itaru had 10 minutes left. 

“This was a lot longer than your usual spiel.” 

“Well yeah, she was one of my first best girls.” 

“How uncute. Why don’t you use that enthusiasm for cleaning our room?”

“How unromantic. I’m here pouring my love out for a character and all you can think about is cleaning our room.” 

_ Maybe, it’s because I already know most of the things you were talking about when I researched everyone on your favorites list. Maybe, it’s because the only thing I can think of is how I wished you would talk about me like that. Maybe, the only thing that I really could focus on was how warm and comfortable I felt. _

“Of course. The room’s dirty and it’s your turn to clean it.” 

“Yeah, yeah. I will later.” 

One game after another, Itaru just chose to abandon dailies in exchange for simple logins. Chikage wondered how Itaru could balance all of those games, streaming, practicing for Mankai, work,  _ and _ other things. Itaru might’ve called Chikage a cheat character, but Itaru could be considered one himself. 

“One minute left Chigasaki.” Chikage warned, watching login bonus after login bonus flash on the screen.

“I know, I just need two more games.” 

Chikage looked up to see Itaru’s eyes get a familiar look in them. Ah yes, the determined look towards the end of every speed run. Chikage was all too familiar with this look.

  
One login screen. Two login screens.

“Kitakore, I made it.” Itaru said, right as 30 minutes finished. He had a wide grin on his face as he placed his phone gently next to him.”

“Wow. You actually made it. Does that mean that I can make you do that again every night?” 

Itaru made a face. “No, you’re lucky there’s no event that I care about right now. If there was one, I would grudgingly use some of my data if you  _ did _ cut the Wifi. ” 

“Really? I’ll have to test that out one day.”

“Please don’t.”

“Why shouldn’t I?” 

“Because I’m your cute junior?” Chikage could hear the hope in Itaru’s voice. Chikage cocked an eyebrow. Itaru couldn’t see it, but he just knew from the aura. 

“Yeah, okay. This strategy isn’t going to work. Maybe…” Itaru tilted Chikage’s face towards his to kiss him gently. “Because I’m your favorite junior?” 

“Hmm… better attempt, but I’m still not convinced.” Chikage hummed, leaning up to kiss Itaru again. The kiss this time was a lot less gentle and a lot less refined.

Itaru pulled away first, his face slightly red. “I don’t know, you seem pretty convinced based on that kiss.”

“Well, I’m not. I think I need a few trials to see.” 

Chikage leaned up again, but his eyes widened when Itaru chose to wrap his arms around Chikage’s waist and bury his face in Chikage’s hair instead.

“Chigasaki?”

“You wanted me to put down my phone because it was late, right? Or is there something else?” Itaru’s voice was teasing and Chikage silently cursed internally. Still, Chikage refused to lose to Itaru.

“Yeah, it’s to save your last few brain cells. They’re so rare that I have to do something to preserve them.” Of course there was no bite to Chikage’s voice, but he still quickly glanced at Itaru just in case. Itaru just had a small smirk on his face, Chikage felt irritated looking at it. Was this how Itaru usually felt with him?

“Senpai, you say this but I saw you glaring at my phone like it was some normal level 7 Zoobat and you were a player that just wants to get through the cave without any repels.”

Chikage didn’t completely understand the Chigasaki language, but he knew enough to get the gist.

“Well, the phone is the thing causing you to lose brain cells.” 

“Then, why do you care about my brain cells so much?” Chikage swears that he’ll make Itaru’s life more annoying later on in the day as revenge for these moments.

_ Because I don’t want to admit that I want you to be paying attention to me instead of those stupidly attractive pixels.  _

“So I can dump more work on you.”

“How unromantic of you. But…” Itaru pulled Chikage even closer to him. “That doesn’t explain why you were cuddling up to me like a large cat.”

_ Oh yeah. Itaru’s a lot more perceptive than he acts.  _

“Who else was I supposed to cuddle up to? Should I have called the director?” Chikage knew that the retort was weak, but he refused to lose like this.

“You could’ve just stayed where you were.” 

Chikage knew that this whole interaction would be over soon.

“Yes, I could’ve.”

“But you didn’t. Instead you cuddled up next to me with the softest expression on your face.”

Chikage internally recoiled. He had a soft expression? God, what has April, the great spy, been reduced to.

_ Someone that’s whipped for his boyfriend. _

Chikage will choose to ignore that statement.

_ Someone that loves being cuddled but won’t admit it. _

Chikage will choose to also ignore that statement.

_ Someone who desperately craves human contact but when he finally does get it, won’t admit that he likes it because he’s afraid that it’ll suddenly get ripped from him.  _

Chikage will  _ definitely  _ ignore that statement.

“Well, is that a game over for you?” Chikage wanted to kiss the smugness right out of Itaru’s voice. 

“No.” Chikage broke out of Itaru’s embrace, only to grudgingly go back when he was hit by a sudden coldness and loneliness.

Itaru gladly accepted Chikage back with a knowing smile. “Yeah, it’s game over for you.” 

Chikage rolled his eyes, but he snuggled closer to Itaru. A few moments later, he could feel Itaru’s fingers gently combing through his hair. Chikage closed his eyes and just focused on the nice sensation running through his hair. Chikagee didn’t know it, but he unknowingly was nuzzling Itaru’s hands. 

“You know senpai, you really are like a cat. You always hiss and scratch and pretend you don’t like me, but in the end, you always come back.” Itaru said fondly. 

_ I always come back because I love you. _

“Shut it before I actually cut your wifi.”

“Alright. I guess this really is a cat and owner relationship. The real question is whether you’re a normal cat, an anime cat, or some type of catboy.” Itaru’s voice turned dreamy towards the end.

“Seriously? How uncute. You have someone like laying in your arms and all you can think of is some catboy.” 

“Hey, not just some catboy. It’s you as a catboy, so obviously it’s the best catboy ever.” Chikage could practically hear the hope in Itaru’s voice.

“No, I’m not going to become a catboy for you.” 

Itaru sighed. “It’s okay, you already act catlike enough. I can just picture some cat ears on you and it’s a win-win for the both of us.” 

“I’m going to pretend like I didn’t hear that.” However, Chikage quietly added “If you really want it that badly, maybe later.”

Itaru’s face split into a grin. “Holy shit, you’re the MVP. Thank you Chikage-san.” Itaru leaned over and quickly kissed Chikage.

_ You’re welcome. Anything to keep that smile on your face. _

“Whatever. I’m still expecting you to clean this room.”

“Don’t worry senpai, that’s on my missions list for later. I need to recharge my energy first though, so let’s actually sleep.”

“Alright, but I wake up in the middle of the night to you on your phone, I’ll make you clean our room for the whole month.”

“Jeez okay. I won’t stop cuddling you.”

“It’s not about the cuddles.” 

_ It’s about the attention.  _

“Yeah sure.” 

Itaru yawned and sleepily buried his face in Chikage’s back. 

“You’re warm Chikage-san and you smell nice.”

“Thanks… You’re quite comforting.”

Itaru knew that that was Chikage’s highest compliment.

“Thanks.” Itaru shifted a bit to make sure that Chikage was comfortable. “Night Chikage-san. Love you.” 

“Night Itaru.”

It didn’t take long before Chikage heard the steady breathing of Itaru slow down. He was still surprised by the fact that Itaru could sleep so comfortably and quickly despite having some knowledge about who Chikage was. 

Chikage didn’t know if he deserved the trust, but it felt nice.

_ Wow. How did you, a feared spy, become so whipped that you would wear cat ears and be the little spoon for someone? _

Chikage had no idea. Well, he knew why but he didn’t want to admit it.

_ Seriously April. You hate hugs. Why do you enjoy this so much?  _

Chikage supposed that he wasn’t particularly fond of hugs, but he was particularly fond of Itaru. 

_ You’ve grown soft.  _

Chikage closed his eyes, comforted by the sound of Itaru’s steady breaths and heartbeats.

Maybe, Chikage has grown soft. That was probably bad considering his line of work, but for now. For now, nothing really mattered but him, Itaru, and their moments together.

“I love you too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, this might be OOC, but it's okay. I want some pure fluff to make myself feel better. Also like... my writing has improved so much since the beginning of this fic? Like, I'm kinda shook but gg. Athena character development. Anyways, follow me on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/gachakitakoreJK)

**Author's Note:**

> So, I have a thing where I tend to overwrite for fanfics and my "short" stories end up being 6k words, so I'm tryna curb that with this. So, comment or dm me or just contact me in any way to give ideas on what to write. I'll try to get to everyone's requests, but it'll take awhile cause I have like 5 ongoing projects. I just love these 2 so much that they're now my writing practice. I'm okay with SFW or NSFW, but I will tag it as NSFW if that request or chapter was NSFW. I ask that you guys keep it ChikaIta, but I don't mind if there's other ships involved like them giving relationship advice or double dates or something. 
> 
> My twitter is @gachakitakoreJK if anyone wants to scream about Chikaita with me or request a topic.


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